Aftershock
by One And Only Trey
Summary: Rating for Language and violence in Later Chapters~ Jake Smith- A teenage girl on the run from the authorities and seeking a temporary sanctuary at Xavier's school for the gifted. John Allerdyce- The most insecure ~~~ Full Summary Inside
1. Chapter One

Aftershock  
  
Summary: Jake Smith- a teenage girl on the run from the authorities and seeking a temporary sanctuary at Xavier's school for the gifted. John Allerdyce- The most insecure boy the mansion can offer, who flirts like a maniac to hide his weaknesses. As different as night and day, when the world turns its back, these two must depend on one another to survive.  
  
Disclaimer: I own only Jake, the plot, and a few other cameo-sort characters.  
  
Author's Notes: A few things to keep in mind. First, I don't know a thing about X-men that wasn't slightly in the first movie, or on the website for the second. Second, I don't know MUCH about computers, so when you see them mentioned... You'll see... I hope it made sense, but I don't know if it's true or not. That's about it. Please Read and Review.  
  
Chapter One:  
  
Jaykaylynn Smith, more commonly known as Jake, is not stupid. That is something to keep in mind when dealing with her.  
  
Hailed as a genius by many teachers, she was also street smart, having been raised in Washington D.C.  
  
She was just your average teenage girl, until her plain life split, leaving her outcast.  
  
After the uncomfortable year before, with such things as the attacks on the Statue of Liberty, and the supposed murder of a senator's aide, a man named Henry Guyrich, the US's capital was not very friendly towards mutants.  
  
American's, typically following the mindset of the government, began to feel unconsciously distrustful of people with mutant genes.  
  
Jake was also, naturally. It was the way the human mind worked.  
  
That was until one day in late May. That was the day that Jake's life would change forever. As if the world was to suddenly stop and start rotating the other direction.  
  
The sun was shining merrily that day, while Jake's best friend, Rick, walked her home.  
  
They were in a decidedly rough part of the city when it happened.  
  
A fight broke out, practically out of nowhere. That was the way it was in the "ghettos".  
  
The fight began to escalate, and Jake and Rick picked up their pace. It hit its peak when one of the men pulled a gun out of the waistline of his blue jeans. His shot was wild, and way off the mark. Rather than hitting his adversary, the bullet hit Rick.  
  
Jake, now fairly soaked in her closest and dearest friend's blood, screamed. But it was not a terrified scream, or even a saddened scream. It was a scream for revenge.  
  
A streetlight about her, which had been out, since it was daytime, began to flicker, then smoke.  
  
Jake's hair, at that time long and blonde, stood on end.  
  
The Streetlight's bulb exploded outward in a shower of glass, and a streak of lightning came from a clear sky to strike the shooter.  
  
It took Jake less than two seconds after the event to start to make up a story to force away the obvious. Not long after that, she passed out from sheer terror.  
  
As it were, someone from one of the nearby apartment buildings called the police, citing a disturbance and possible shooting.  
  
When the police arrived on the scene, they found three people lying in the street, and one person standing stock still, staring at the street lamp.  
  
--  
  
When Jake woke up the next morning, in the hospital, it was to less than happy news.  
  
Rick Schroeder, her best friend, had died the night before.  
  
The man that had been electrocuted had survived, although he was now terrified.  
  
The Police department decided that the light fixture had been faulty and malfunctioned, and that, somehow, the gun had acted as a conductor, drawing the electricity to him.  
  
Jake, eager for an explanation, however inane, completely agreed, and went along with it for as long as she could. But it wasn't long before another incident that cost her any semblance of normalcy left in her life.  
  
She often found herself playing cat and mouse around any database she could successfully hack. However, she was incredibly paranoid, and had spent more money on non-tracing protection than she had on the actual computer. The surge protector alone was a little less than $100... But not a lot less.  
  
She knew somewhere in her mind, that her life was coming to a head when she decided to try and pull off her greatest feat in hacking thus far.  
  
Jake had developed a smoking habit in her sophomore year. Now, as a junior, she constantly felt the need for a cigarette. She hadn't had one in some time, main reason being she couldn't buy them, being under aged.  
  
She was smart, but she was also dense at times. She had decided to hack into the main database for the DMV, and change her age, up two years.  
  
She figured she should have cut the plan short when her day started off quite strange. When she woke up that morning to her alarm clock, her fingers brushed the snooze button. The alarm clock had instantly died. The alarm hadn't just stopped; the glowing red numbers had blinked out and refused to re-ignite.  
  
She had shrugged it off, until the strange occurrence reiterated itself through out the day, with her hair dryer, her car, her portable CD player, and her calculator.  
  
By the time she had gotten at home, she should have called the shindig off and gone to sleep.  
  
But, she decided against her better judgement, and logged onto the Internet.  
  
She was quite efficient at what she did, and she was in the middle of changing the date when the unthinkable happened.  
  
Her computer surged.  
  
But it was more than just an electrical malfunction. She could, somehow, feel the electricity. And it was coming from her, flowing into the computer. And the worst wasn't over.  
  
The screen flickered, the power light blinked, and a message popped up on the screen.  
  
"Data Overload: Must restart" and it went about doing just that.  
  
"No!" she screamed, but the machine was resilient. The monitor blanked, and the tower made the familiar noises of rebooting.  
  
"No. No, No, NO!" Jake knew exactly what had happened, computer wise. The surge had caused her computer to freeze and back up while in the database. This would be read as an error in the data. Her IP address was normally blocked and hidden, until the surge ha caused all of her careful precautions to fall. Her IP address would be logged and processed as accessing the database.  
  
Hacking a government facility files was a federal offense. She knew this. It was a major felony. And now Jake, whether the state knew it or not, was a felon. A wanted woman.  
  
And it was her own fault, in every way she could see.  
  
She looked at her hands, and the truth she had repressed for almost a month resurfaced.  
  
The more she thought of it, the more it made sense. But, still doubting, she decided to test it. She held out her hands, palms up, and concentrated. With the simple force of thought, she noticed something crackling over her skin. It sounded like static, such as when you pull a sock off a wool sweater fresh from the dryer. It smelled like a thunderstorm. And it looked like a faintly bluish glow.  
  
The more she thought about it, the bigger it grew. And she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was electricity.  
  
She began to wonder just how much control she had. She bent her wrists so her palms were facing outwards, and she thought harder. Two matching bolts of electricity crackled up then began to swirl around her as she unconsciously reined it in.  
  
She felt as if her life were draining out of her through her palms. She grew light-headed, her thoughts wandered, and the electricity stopped.  
  
She looked around blankly, allowing her mind to regain control. She eyed the computer, and then began to gasp.  
  
And she did what any teenager who had just learned that everything they thought they knew was wrong would do.  
  
She started to pack a bag of necessities.  
  
Less than ten minutes later, Jaykaylynn Smith was on the open road, trying to escape a doomed life.  
  
Pages: 4  
  
Words: 1413  
  
Characters (without spaces): 6491  
  
Characters (with spaces): 7879  
  
Paragraphs: 66  
  
Lines: 216  
  
Authors Notes: What do you think? Please Read and Review!  
  
-The One and Only Trey 


	2. Chapter Two

Aftershock  
  
Disclaimer and Summary: All disclaiming and summarizing placed in Chapter One remain for this chapter, and all following chapters.  
  
Author's Notes: It took me quite some time to get this chapter written. It's rather long, but I think you guys will like it. Another Note: I'm not exactly sure where this takes place, but It's between the first and second movies. Since It's never said how much time passes between the two, I'm going with almost a year, but not quite. In fact, a lot of time passes in this very chapter, with just a simple line break.  
  
So bear with me. Thanks.  
  
Reviewer Shout Outs:  
  
Fireball: Thanks. John comes in the next chapter, but I hope you enjoy this chapter too!  
  
Kumiko Eharu: Ahh! Someone who won't mind an OC ship! Whee! Hope you enjoy.  
  
the proud canadian: Here ya go!  
  
Tigereyes: Yes, it is rather bizzare, that's why she goes by Jake ;)  
Chapter Two:  
A day and a half later, Jake Smith was still driving.  
  
She stopped ever three hours or so to re-fill the gas tank.  
  
For once in her life, she was happy with the strange family traditions she had had to deal with since she was born, such as the savings account, fully under her jurisdiction, which her grandparents put around $500 dollars into each year. That, plus random cash gifts from family and friends, and her monthly pay check from her part time job, the sixteen year old run away had just under $10000 to her name.  
  
The first time she stopped, she'd withdrawn every cent, not daring to risk the authorities freezing her account. And she drove.  
  
At her second stop, she had her long blonde hair cut to just under and inch in length.  
  
At the third stop, she had the now short hair dyed black.  
  
She didn't exactly know where she was. She wasn't even sure where she was going.  
  
Somewhere in her subconscious, she figured she needed to get out of the United States. Somewhere in her subconscious was heading North, to Canada. But her conscious mind didn't know this yet. It was just driving, with no real agenda.  
  
It was close to four in the morning, quite dark, and the heavy clouds blocking any semblance of moon light from the sky indicated a gathering storm.  
  
It hit with a vengeance. A streak of lightning tore the sky, followed in two seconds by it's accompanying clap of thunder.  
  
Jake realized she should stop for the night, but she didn't bother. She didn't even slow down. She continued driving; breaking the speed limit as she roared down the winding forest road, seemingly paved around each and every tree in the forest.  
  
The rain started unexpectedly, and she flipped on her high beams and her windshield wipers at the same time, but it didn't seem to help at all. As fast as the wipers swept the water away, there was an equal amount splashing into its place.  
  
Jake, having been experimenting with her abilities, rolled down the window just enough to stick her hand out of it as another bolt of lightning broke the sky down the middle. She pulled the electric residue straight out of the air, and shivered as the charge entered her. The resulting buzz woke her up more than any amount of caffeine could.  
  
But there was something else coming with the electricity this time.  
  
As the charge flowed into her, a flash flew through her mind, obscuring her vision better than the rain covering her windshield ever could.  
  
It was a vision of something, in sketchy black and white. She was seeing, from a birds eye view, a car racing down a narrow winding road, then swerving, and slamming into a large truck, spinning off of the road, and slamming into the base of a large tree, where a flash of lightning brought two more trees crashing into the car, crushing it like an aluminum can.  
  
Another flash resounded through Jake's head, and she was back in the car, driving at well over seventy miles per hour.  
  
She slowed down the car, but not much.  
  
Not nearly enough.  
  
~~~  
  
Ororo Munroe woke up with a start. She had been having a dream, and a sharp clap of thunder had clued her in to just how severe the dream was. Her dreams were effecting the weather.  
  
But it was more than that. Her dream had confused her in a big way, but she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that someone was in trouble, someone needed her help, and that someone was a young Mutant, with ties to the weather in some way or another.  
  
Ororo jumped to her feet, and, dressing quickly ran to her best friend's bedroom door, knocking on it frantically.  
  
The insane knocking jolted Jean Grey awake and she got up, opening the door with a yawn and a stupid blink.  
  
"What's wrong?" She mumbled.  
  
"We've got to go. Someone needs help."  
  
~~~  
  
Jake, while shaken up by the vision, ignored it's warning.  
  
She was driving blind, much to fast for her won good.  
  
She didn't even see the huge tractor trailer bearing down on her until it was seemingly too much. And the Driver of the truck didn't seem to see her either.  
  
By the time she saw the impending doom, she figured it was too late to do anything.  
  
If she were to swerve, then she would plummet off the side of the road, down a five to six foot straight drop, and into the trees lining the road. If she hit the brakes, she would be run over by the truck. So she did both.  
  
Cranking the wheel, she then promptly hit the brakes. The car didn't seem to stop fast enough so she turned the key, pulled it from the ignition, and the, as it still hadn't stopped, she put her hand firmly on the dashboard, and sucked every last watt of energy from the engine.  
  
The car stopped, but she hadn't turned far enough.  
  
The grille of the truck slammed against the quarter panel of her car, slamming her into the passenger seat, despite her seat belt.  
  
The car spun a half turn counter clockwise, and the nose of the car was slammed into the side of the truck.  
  
This slammed Jake forward against the steering wheel, knocking her unconscious.  
  
This didn't stop the car.  
  
It skidded backwards across the road, then fell off the embankment, slamming with a crushing finality into the base of a tree.  
  
Just as the vision had predicted, a bolt of lighting felled two more trees. One slammed across the hood of the car, the other crashed the top of the car inwards.  
  
A series of cracks spread across the windows and the glass soon imploded inwards.  
  
A particularly jagged piece of glass dragged unceremoniously across Jake's right cheek, laying open the skin in four perfectly parallel lines.  
  
Her right leg was trapped under the dashboard. If she were awake, she would have felt the bones in her leg warping under the pressure.  
  
As it was, there was nothing, Jake was slipping slowly in to absolute oblivion.  
  
~~~  
  
By the time Ororo and Jean arrive at the scene of the crash, the car had caught fire, but the rain, still falling heavily, had quickly put it out, leaving the automobile caught under two large trees and gently smoldering.  
  
The girl was trapped in the car, seemingly by her leg, and her face, arms, and most everywhere else were covered in blood.  
  
But she was alive, and her chest rose and fell in slow, rhythmic breaths.  
  
"Well shit."  
  
~~~  
  
"You what?"  
  
"We... rescued her."  
  
"How?" It was obvious that Professor Charles Xavier was not happy.  
  
"Well..." Jean started. She was standing protectively over the girl, who was lying unconsciously on a platform in one of the labs at the Xavier mansion.  
  
Her right leg was bent to the right, but Jean knew, from a quick series of examinations and a few x-rays that nothing was broken. Somehow, the bones had bent, but not broken, and stayed that way.  
  
She had bandaged the four cuts across the girl's cheek as well as possible, but she was next to one hundred percent certain that the cuts were going to scar, permanently reminding the teenager of the night before.  
  
Ororo stood on the other side of the platform, watching Xavier worriedly.  
  
"She was scared. I could feel her." Charles shook his head.  
  
"You didn't even bother to tell anyone else?"  
  
"I didn't think we had time... I almost went alone."  
  
"She could be dangerous!"  
  
"Well, there is really no way to tell. But, she is hurt," Jean stepped in. "Shouldn't we make sure she recovers? She's a teenaged mutant. Isn't that what the institute is for?" He sighed heavily in response.  
  
"Fine." Jean and Ororo exchanged smiles, "But..." He continued, "She is YOUR responsibility." They both nodded solemnly, and he turned his chair to leave.  
  
"Let me know when she wakes up."  
  
~~~  
  
Almost three weeks later, she was still unconscious.  
  
A series of CT scans had ruled out the possibility of brain damage.  
  
The wounds across her face had healed, and had scared over just as Jean had predicted. The four ridges of white were permanent.  
  
The warping of her leg was also permanent.  
  
Jean was sure that with physical therapy, she would be able to walk relatively normal.  
  
If worse came too worse, she'd have to carry a cane, just to keep herself upright if anything. But this might prove a bit awkward for the girl that appeared to be about sixteen, but it wouldn't be a problem at all if the girl never woke up.  
  
Also, there was no way to tell exactly what the girl's mutation was.  
  
As told by the blood test Jean had run, the girl was of an O+ blood type, she did have the mutator gene, and it was active.  
  
Past that, Jean was metaphorically in the dark.  
  
In seemed as if the girl was in a coma, with no visible cause. But it was still very possible.  
  
Jean was beginning to give up hope when the unexpected happened.  
  
Jean was running yet another CT scan on the girl when the machine shut down without warning.  
  
Jean sighed heavily, and moved around the console to extract the girl from inside the machine.  
  
"Jesus Wept." Echoed from inside the confines of the machine, and Jean's eyes widened to Dear in Headlights proportions.  
  
Jean continued to remove the girl, and watched, transfixed, as the girl sat up, raised a hand to her head, and blinked like an owl.  
  
"What in the hell is going on?" Jean, however, didn't hear the question, as she was calling psychically out to the Professor.  
  
Jake, as she was, grew wary and angry. She had always had a very short temper, even though she had not a clue what was going on. She barely knew who she was.  
  
Keeping one eye on the occupied Jean Grey, Jake swung her legs over the side of the platform she had been perched on, and moved to walk away.  
  
And she fell flat on her face, growling uncontrollably as an intense pain shot through her right leg.  
  
Jean turned and gasped. Helping the girl stand, she tried calming her psychically.  
  
Jake, realizing how helpless she was, let her hard demeanor dissolve, leaving her vulnerable and afraid.  
  
"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you, I'm trying to help you." Jean whispered both physically and mentally.  
  
The girl, gasping heavily as the pain subsided, leaned against the red haired doctor.  
  
She no longer cared if she was in danger. She didn't even care if she was about to die.  
  
She just wanted comfort, and that was what this stranger was offering. And Jake would accept it, no matter what the consequences.  
  
"What happened?" She whimpered as tears welled up in her eyes.  
  
"It's okay. You're okay, you're going to be fine." Jean whispered.  
  
The door opened, and the Professor entered, followed by Ororo and, unexpectedly, Scott Summers, Jean's love interest.  
  
Jean looked back down at the girl huddled in her arms. Her face had flushed in fear and pain, and the four white scars remained just that, stark white against her now rosy cheek.  
  
"Welcome to Westchester." The Professor said quietly and calmingly. His psychic influence seemed to work, as the girl's breaths slowed to a steady rhythm.  
  
"Don't be afraid."  
  
Pages: 7  
  
Words: 2083  
  
Characters (without spaces): 9425  
  
Characters (with spaces): 11480  
  
Paragraphs: 107  
  
Lines: 354  
  
Author's Notes: R&R please! Thanks to everyone who already has, keep reading!  
  
-The One and Only Trey 


	3. Chapter Three

Aftershock  
  
Summary and Disclaimer: See Chapter One  
  
Author's Notes: Finally, what so many reviewers have been waiting and hoping for. The first appearance of St. John Allerdyce, as well as most all of the other teenage (in movieverse) mutants that will be associating with Jake.  
  
Enjoy! R&R!  
  
Reviewer shout outs:  
  
Wy Wy: What's wrong with my Punctuation, punk? I'll beat you up! *grrs*  
  
Kerty: You get your wish in this chapter. I hope you like how I portray him.  
  
Kasha: Well, the original idea was to have her leg shatter from hip to ankle, but that would take too long to heal, so... This is what we get  
  
Loony: I'm glad you're so pleased with the story! Keep on reviewing!  
  
Dark Angel: Here you go. John.  
  
Rei.K: John is RIGHT HERE. Just read ;)  
  
Kumiko Eharu: Fanks much. I hope you like this chapter just as much.  
Chapter Three:  
Jake grimaced as she placed her weight on her right leg. But a grin fought its way through the pain.  
  
Two weeks ago, she couldn't even hold her weight on the bowed bones of her right leg.  
  
The physical therapy was certainly coming along, as was her disjointed memory, slowly but surely it was piecing itself together.  
  
She was Jake Smith. She was sixteen years old. She was a mutant, with some sort of power over electricity. She had been in a horrible car crash which had left her half crippled.  
  
The question she didn't have an answer too was why she had been driving through the thick rain that night, at deadly speeds no less.  
  
She had the who, the what, the when, even the where. But the why of her history continued to elude the futile grasp of her mind, even through two weeks of intense physical and psychological therapy.  
  
So here she was, slowly but surely rising to her feet until she was standing as straight as it was possible.  
  
"Excellent." Jean said. "Now..." She grabbed a hold of the cane leaning against the table, and offered it to Jake.  
  
"Let's see you walk."  
  
Jake sighed at this, but she steeled herself. Using the cane in unison with her right leg, she moved slowly, leaning more of her weight on the cane than on her distrustful leg.  
  
Soon she became increasingly comfortable with this way of movement, and lapped the lab twice.  
  
"Excellent." Jean repeated. "You are quite amazing, Jake." Jake smiled in response.  
  
"You really think so?"  
  
"Oh, definitely. Now... What do you say to getting properly dressed and taking your first walk around the mansion?" Jake considered.  
  
"Sure!"  
  
~~~  
  
Jake stood nervously in the doorway to one of the many recreation rooms spread throughout the mansion. Jean stood behind her, a smile playing on her lips and a reassuring hand on Jake's shoulder.  
  
"Go on." She whispered.  
  
"I can't." was the whispered reply.  
  
"Why not? They don't bite."  
  
"I... I'm not very social. I don't know what to say."  
  
"Too late..." Jean trailed off as three people about Jake's age approached the door.  
  
"H- h- hi." Jake stuttered, and mentally smacked herself for sounding so stupid. Her hand absently brushed against her right cheek and she grimaced slightly as she felt the flaw in her skin.  
  
"Hi." The other girl smiled kindly. "I'm Marie." She held out her hand, and Jake shook it briskly.  
  
"I'm Jake." She said. As they shook hands, Jake noticed that the girl's hands were gloved despite the warmth of the mansion.  
  
"Very nice to meet you." Jake heard a slight drawl to Marie's voice, perhaps southern. It sounded out of place this far North.  
  
"This is Bobby Drake," Marie motioned towards the shorter, lighter haired boy, "And John Allerdyce." The other boy, tall and brunette. Bobby offered his hand in greeting, but John just turned slightly and leaned against the wall, resolutely flicking the lip to a Zippo Lighter. Open, closed. Open, closed.  
  
Jake shook her head and took Bobby's hand. A chill swept up her arm and into her body as if she had been plunged into a tank of ice.  
  
She shivered, but smiled it off.  
  
"You want to join us? We were just about to start a new game." Marie motioned towards the pool table.  
  
"I'd rather just watch if that's okay."  
  
"Of course."  
  
The three returned to the pool table, and Jake followed, self consciously feeling as if everyone was staring straight at her, and her unusual walking pattern, or the ridges on her face, or both.  
  
By the time she made it to the pool table, her heart was pounding.  
  
She looked around, under the pretense of being inquisitive, but she was really making sure no one was staring at her. Only one person, the boy called John. He was now against the wall behind the pool table, still flicking his lighter.  
  
Never lighting it, just flipping the lid open, then snapping it shut with a simple flick of his wrist.  
  
Marie and Bobby chalked up their cues, and were soon in a not-quite- competitive game. John, however, wasn't participating in any way. Just watching Jake.  
  
Finally, he spoke. His voice was far from obnoxious as she had assumed, but rather soft and soothing, but still strong, and Jake could sense a touch of defensive undertones. All this from five words.  
  
"So... What can you do?" She eyed him, wondering what on earth he was talking about.  
  
"Hello?" He waved a hand in front of her face, and she shook her head to clear it.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I said, What- can- you- do?" He said slowly, with a pause between words as if speaking to a simpleton.  
  
She stared at him a while longer before he sighed exasperatedly.  
  
"Your power! What is your power? You are a Mutant? What is your power?" He exploded.  
  
"Oh!" She mentally slapped herself again for being so dense. "I... Well, I don't know if they have a name for what I do... I can... Er..." She was now mentally pounding her head against the wall. How could she sound so stupid?  
  
"ELECTRICITY!" She finally blurted out. "I can control electricity."  
  
"Sort of." She added, but only to herself.  
  
"Oh! Well, why didn't you just say so?" he said with a light chuckle.  
  
She crossed her arms angrily and pouted.  
  
"What about you? What do you do?" He smiled mischievously, and flicked open his lighter again, this time actually igniting the flame. He moved his fingers over the flame, and it stuck to the fingertip, pulling away from the lighter until it was perched in his open palm.  
  
"I'm pyrokinetic. I control fire."  
  
"Well yippy skip and Yay for you." She said, heavy sarcasm, dripping from every syllable. He smirked, and she scowled in response.  
  
Their banter was interrupted by a rude giggle. She turned her head to see Bobby and Marie holding back laughs as well as two other girls who had just arrived.  
  
"What?" She and John said simultaneously. Both sounded relatively angry.  
  
"You two are so cute!" the taller girl stated. She was dressed in bright colors with large hoop earrings. Jake narrowed her eyes angrily. If this John was 'cute', she didn't want anything to do with it. "Yeah, it looks as if Saint John Allerdyce finally met his soul mate. The only female on planet who can be just as surly as him." The other girl said. She was shorter, with light brown hair.  
  
"Met my SOULMATE?"  
  
"SAINT John?"  
  
Everyone smiled at these two statements, and they all refused to reply to either of the inquires.  
  
Instead, Marie introduced the two newcomers. "This is Kitty Pryde," The shorter girl, "and Jubilation Lee."  
  
"I see." Jake said. She offered her hand, and both shook them with kind smiles.  
  
"Jake, huh?"  
  
She turned to see someone looking her direction from the doorway.  
  
He was quite tall, and had glasses so shining red they were nearly opaque covering his eyes.  
  
She nodded, and he smiled.  
  
"The professor wants to see you."  
  
"Um... Yeah, sure, of course..." She looked around blankly for a moment, then turned back towards the person who had summoned her.  
  
"Where might he be?"  
  
"I'll take you."  
  
"Okay... Bye guys, nice meeting you and what not," She directed towards her peers, and then turned to leave with the man she recognized as Scott Summers.  
  
Jean liked him. A lot.  
  
Amazing the things one learns when cooped up in that lab with Jean being the only regular company she had had.  
  
As they left the room, she heard the others making fun of John.  
  
The plus to this was that they weren't making fun of her. She smiled at the thought. It seemed as if they accepted her as one of them. It was a good feeling.  
  
"So, how does it feel to be up and about, Jake?" Scott asked amicably.  
  
"Different. But somehow comforting."  
  
"I'm sure."  
  
"What exactly does the professor want to see me about? I haven't been up nearly long enough to get into trouble, have I?" Scott laughed at this.  
  
"No. He just wants to welcome you."  
  
"Ah." She replied while wishing desperately for something more interesting to say.  
  
Luckily, they didn't have the time to say much else before school stopped.  
  
"Here it is." She nodded, and smiled in thanks. He nodded curtly in acknowledgement, then turned to leave.  
  
She steeled herself and knocked on the heavy wooden door.  
  
"Come in." His voice was rich and resonated England. Jake mat met him before, but they hadn't exchanged many words. He had reassured her that they would sit down to talk later, but insisted that she get better first.  
  
Now that she was on her feet, he obviously thought it was time to get to know his newest student.  
  
She slowly opened the door, and stepped inside his office, closing the door after herself.  
  
"Ah, Jake. Come in, Take a seat."  
  
Pages: 6  
  
Words: 1633  
  
Characters (without spaces: 7499  
  
Characters (with spaces): 9101  
  
Paragraphs: 105  
  
Lines: 300  
  
Authors Notes: Hope you enjoyed. Keep reading and reviewing!  
  
-The One and Only Trey 


	4. Chapter Four

Aftershock  
  
Summary/Disclaimer: See any preceding chapter  
  
Author's Notes: This chapter sucks, I admit it. It's one of those 'moving forward' Chapters... I hope you guys like it anyway. Chapter five will be awesome, I promise, and then, Chapter Six, I'll be jumping head first into the movie action.  
  
Another note, There is some information on the physiology of certain mutants, which I pulled from the movie novelization. So, it's not just made up.  
  
Also, near the end, there is a short section of telepathic talking. Since my retarded computer won't let my FFN contributions put any text in italics, I use ~ in place of " for telepathy. Just to let you know.  
  
Reviewer Shout outs:  
  
Loony: Yeah that was one of my fave parts too.  
  
Ryan: Thanks, I will!  
  
Fireball: Oh, just you wait...  
  
Tigereyes: To be more exact, the femur (upper leg bone for those not in the know) is bent slightly to the LEFT (not right, as previously stated). So, just above her knee there is a slight bend to the left, towards her, well, left leg.  
  
Dolly: Glad you like.  
  
Saturniia: Good luck with the finals, here is Chapter Four!  
  
Kryptonite: Thanks!  
  
Rei.K: I think so too.  
  
Dark Angel: I'm glad you find her unique! Keep reading to see her in action.  
  
Kumiko Eharu: I get the feeling you'll like this chapter.  
Chapter Four:  
Jake did as she was told, perching herself on one of the chairs surrounding his desk.  
  
She crossed her legs awkwardly at the angle, as anything else was one-step past impossible.  
  
"I'm quite glad to see you walking, Jake. You being mobile is quite a relief. We were getting worried about you."  
  
"No real problem. I bounce back."  
  
"Obviously, but Jean has told me that, while you continue to excel at physical challenges, your psyche seems to be scarred worse than..."  
  
"Than my face?" She interrupted with a self-depreciating smile.  
  
"If that is how you see it, than, yes. You seem to have one of the most acute cases of amnesia I have ever seen. You can tell your name, where you came from, what has happened to you. Jean has said you remember as fare back as when you were four."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"But you can't seem to find a reason for why you were so far away from your home the night of the crash?"  
  
"No sir." He nodded slowly, then, realizing the look on her face was less than calm, and He smiled.  
  
"Can you tell me what's wrong?"  
  
He sighed.  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
"Perhaps?"  
  
"Jake, has Jean told you what I do?"  
  
"She... She said you read minds."  
  
"That is correct. What I want to do is read your mind, and hopefully help you figure out how you ended up here." She nodded slowly.  
  
"A Question?" He asked.  
  
"Uh... Well, from what Jean told me of your abilities, you could have done this white I was unconscious." He smiled at this.  
  
"I find it rude to enter people's minds without permission." She nodded again, more briskly.  
  
"Well, if you think you can help me, then feel free."  
  
"Very good. In that case, just relax." She nodded and allowed herself to calm, letting the tension in her body reduce, and her eyes slowly closed.  
  
After a few moments of waiting, the Professor's breaths quickened, and she opened her eyes to see what was wrong.  
  
His eyes were traveling restlessly over her face.  
  
"What? What did I do wrong?"  
  
"Nothing. Nothing at all. I just forgot a few things..." He smiled slightly to reassure her. "You know, Jake, the first time I tried to read Storm, or should I say, Ororo's mind, I came away with a devil of a headache and none the wiser about her. Do you know why?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"The average person's mind is filled with static. It stems from the electric impulses in the brain. Even a mediocre telepath can over come this static. However, Ororo's ability, I believe you know, is control over the weather. One aspect of these powers, her control over lightning, makes this background static thicker; more like a snowy television set over a slightly fuzzy, but otherwise clear channel. This much static casts a relative shield around her brain, making it close to impossible for a telepath to painlessly read her mind.  
  
"Your abilities are much the same, albeit more focused on one aspect, and more broad in that aspect. But the static stands, in your mind as thick as in hers."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Oh, no, not your fault, not at all. I should have realized..." He trailed off, then picked back up in a different direction.  
  
"Well, no matter. We'll try again another time?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Now, we need to discuss what you are going to do. This IS a school, you know. We have dorms, and classes. I would consider it an honor if you would choose to attend the school as a student. For a little while, at least. We have average classes, and also classes purposely designed for young mutants. Teaching them how to control their powers and the like." He paused, and she nodded. "What do you think?"  
  
"I think it sounds great."  
  
"Good. Very good. We'll get you a dorm, although you'll be alone for a while, and talk about the classes you'd like to take." She nodded, and he smiled warmly.  
  
"Let's go find you a dorm."  
  
~~~~  
  
Two days later, Jake was sitting in her writing class. It was 'free reading' time, which translated into 'talk inanely', and the students took the advantage. Jake had quickly become a member of a regular 'group', that is, a sect of a certain age group that had several classes together. The group consisted of Bobby, John, Marie, Kitty, Jubilation, better known as Jubilee, a boy named Jamie Madrox, and another boy named Pitor Rasputin.  
  
The discussion of the day was an oldie, but a goodie, to everyone but Jake, who had not yet experienced one of these discussions.  
  
The topic was 'who could beat who with their powers', and the arguments were all fierce, and all aimed completely at one another.  
  
"No way. Fire could burn you to a crisp, and melt your dorky ice to water while it's at it."  
  
"But fire's no good if the person wielding it is totally freezer burned."  
  
"Well, neither can do much against pure steel," Pitor chimed in, his thick Russian accent making his mock menace sound even more menacing.  
  
"If you can just walk through a person, what's the point?"  
  
"No one can do much of anything if they can't see." Jubilee pointed out.  
  
"With a hundred of me to every one of you, none of you stand a chance."  
  
"Well, with one pinkie I could bring you all to your knees." Marie said in a very uncharacteristic moment of spite, wiggling her fingers in a pretend threat.  
  
With that, they all paused, and turned to look at Jake, waiting for her contribution. She obliged spectacularly.  
  
"Well, how well could any of you function against an unseen enemy calling an instantaneous lightning storm on your heads? A dome of over one hundred volts, and I'm standing a hundred yards away. You're all fried and I'm laughing." They all paused for a moment.  
  
"Can you really do that? From that far away?" Jamie asked quietly.  
  
"Yep. Jean, that is, Doctor Grey, told me I have a radius of four hundred feet."  
  
"Nice." Bobby said appreciatively.  
  
"Very impressive." Pitor added.  
  
"Thanks." She said, basking in the temporary glory her abilities offered her.  
  
John ruined it all.  
  
"But fire is still the best in close range combat." And the argument started anew.  
  
Jake shook her head and turned her attention towards the electric devices in the room.  
  
Opening her hand slowly, she allowed the charge to race into her, more for fun than anything else.  
  
Then it happened.  
  
Just like the night of the crash, one of the few things she remembered about that night, her eyes hazed over, and the same sketchy black and white picture filled her head.  
  
She saw John, standing up from the table, dressed as he was today. He turned to walk away from the table, and one of the lamps hanging from the ceiling fell on him for no visible reason. It hit his head, and he collapsed forward, a dark spot stretching through his hair. With another flash, she was in the classroom in full color as John pushed himself from the table.  
  
Before he could take a step, she lunged at him.  
  
"Look out," She said as she tackled him, taking him three feet across the floor.  
  
Bobby leapt to his feet in time to feel the light fixture brush past his nose and shatter on the flagged stone floor, right where John had been standing a split second before.  
  
"What in the-" John yelled, pushing Jake off of him.  
  
"What's happened?" Ororo asked, standing to be heard over the din rising in the room.  
  
"Are you okay?" Kitty asked of them both worriedly.  
  
"I'm fine." Jake said as she slowly pushed herself upright.  
  
She limped slowly the three feet or so to where she had started, and sat down heavily, trying to force away the dual pains of severe headache and shooting pains in her bad leg.  
  
John was still sitting in the floor, staring at the remains of the light fixture. Bobby was looking up at the ceiling at where the lamp had fallen.  
  
Everyone else in the room was looking back and forth between John and Jake.  
  
Eventually, Pitor's eyes rested on Jake, slowly contemplating.  
  
"Did you know that was going to happen?" He asked her quietly.  
  
"Yes." Was her reply.  
  
"How?"  
  
"I don't really know. It's only happened once before..." She looked at John. "I didn't really think or consider, I just acted." She thoughtfully fingered the scars running down her face, remembering the first time she had seen the future, when she hadn't done anything about it.  
  
The next thing she knew, Ororo was standing in front of her.  
  
"Jake, I think we need to see the professor."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Just trust me."  
  
Jake stood slowly and followed Ororo.  
  
"Class dismissed." Ororo called over her shoulder as they left, and there was a sound of upheaval as everyone moved to gather their things and leave.  
  
Jake followed her teacher sullenly, afraid she as in some sort of trouble.  
  
Professor Xavier's office was located centrally in the school, so it didn't take long to arrive at the rather imposing door. Ororo knocked on it briskly.  
  
"Yes?" Came the voice.  
  
"May we come in?"  
  
"Of course." Ororo opened the door and ushered Jake inside.  
  
"Ororo. Jake. Is something wrong? Please, take a seat." Jake obliged, but Ororo stood.  
  
"I prefer to remain standing, thank you. And no, nothing wrong, but something happened in class I thought you should know about."  
  
"Oh really. What is that."  
  
"A few moments ago, one of the lights in my classroom fell from the ceiling, almost hitting John Allerdyce in the head."  
  
"Is he alright?"  
  
"He's just fine, just a little shaken up, thanks to Ms. Smith."  
  
"Oh really? How is that?" He asked, turning his eyes on Jake.  
  
"I... I saw it before it happened." This caught his attention.  
  
"Oh did you?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Has this happened before?"  
  
This was a question she hadn't wanted to answer. But she felt he trusted her. She wanted to keep that trust.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"When?" Another tough question.  
  
"Before the crash." He nodded slowly.  
  
"What did you see?"  
  
She paused. He seemed to be leading her, but she couldn't be sure.  
  
He watched her carefully, taking in the series of emotions crossing her face. Fear, Doubt, consideration, and acceptance.  
  
"I saw the crash happen." She expected him to make something of this, about how she knew what was going to happen, and hadn't done anything about it.  
  
Instead, he nodded.  
  
"This was the only other time it has happened?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"I see. Thank you. You're free to go."  
  
"Thank you, professor." She stood and made her way slowly out of the office, relatively pleased with herself. She had maintained his trust, and his trust meant the world to her.  
  
As soon as she was out of the room, Charles called psychically out to Jean.  
  
~Jean?~  
  
~Yes Professor?~ She responded.  
  
~We need to talk.~  
  
~What about?~  
  
~It seems that our newest student is borderline clairvoyant.~  
  
~~~~  
  
Jake wasn't sure where to go now. She didn't want to go to her empty dorm, and her classes were over for the day.  
  
She turned towards the kitchens.  
  
Sitting at a table alone was Jamie Madrox. He was picking his way systematically around a bowl of ice cream.  
  
"Hey." She said quietly. He looked up and smiled.  
  
"Hi. Take a seat." He offered, pointing his spoon at the chair across from him. She obligated, and watched him put his spoon back in the bowl.  
  
"Are you okay?" He asked after a quiet moment of settling.  
  
"Oh yeah. I'm fine."  
  
"You didn't look fine when Ms. Munroe took you out of the room."  
  
"I was just shook up."  
  
He nodded.  
  
"You want some ice cream? Or something?"  
  
"No, I'm okay." He shrugged and continued to nurse his snack.  
  
"Thanks though."  
  
"No problem..." There was a rather uncomfortable silence, which Jake took it upon herself to break.  
  
"What do you do?"  
  
He swallowed his most recent bite, and smiled.  
  
"I can duplicate myself by physical force subjected to by body." She blinked.  
  
"What?" He inquired.  
  
"How does it work?"  
  
"I don't really know. It just does..." He paused. "I don't really have much control over my powers. A sneeze can trigger a duplication, and then there's five or ten of me running around."  
  
She laughed quietly.  
  
"What? Is that funny?"  
  
"Not really." He shrugged, and poked his spoon at the melting dessert.  
  
"What about you? How does... It happen?"  
  
She knew what he was talking about, but she didn't know how to answer.  
  
"I don't know either. IT just happens sometimes. There's no real warning, just a vision."  
  
"Hmm." Was his only reply, and they sat there in silence again. The rhythmic clicking of the lid of a Zippo lighter soon interrupted the silence.  
  
Jake turned to acknowledge John standing in the doorway.  
  
"I just wanted to say thanks." He said, still nervously flipping his lighter.  
  
"You're quite welcome." They watched each other for a moment, their eyes exchanging subconscious words they could and would never consciously say. Their quiet moment was interrupted by a powerful sneeze, the sound of Jamie's chair tipping over backwards and hitting against the floor, and there were instantly twenty Jamie Madroxes sitting around the kitchen, looking at each other blankly.  
  
Pages: 9  
  
Words: 2462  
  
Characters (with out spaces): 11339  
  
Characters (with spaces): 13713  
  
Paragraphs: 171  
  
Lines: 482  
  
Authors Notes: R&R guys!  
  
-The One and Only Trey 


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